1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera with an electronic flash device.
2. Background Arts
Cameras having an electronic flash device in order to enable photography at night and in darkness are generally used. The electronic flash device has an optical panel, e.g. a condenser plate with a Fresnel lens surface, disposed in front of a flash discharge tube, and a flashlight is emitted to a subject through the condenser plate. The condenser plate prevents unevenness of illumination between a central area and a peripheral area of a photographic field.
Previously, the condenser plate was so fitted into a front wall of a front cover of the camera as to be flat with an outer surface of the front cover. However recently as the camera has become thinner, the condenser plate has been so disposed as to protrude from the outer surface of the front cover. The condenser plate is disposed in an edge of the front wall of the camera, so that especially when the front cover is a convexly curved surface the top of which is around the center of the camera, protrusion of the condenser plate from the front cover enlarges. There is no visual neatness in disposing the condenser plate, so the camera may have a very poor appearance and shape.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a camera in which an optically panel can be neatly disposed for the camera to have a high quality in the appearance and shape.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a camera which is made thinner and smaller.
To achieve the above and other objects, according to the present invention, sidewalls of a flash opening formed in a front cover are processed with the same surface treatment as that for the front cover. An optical panel is so fitted into the flash opening from a backside of the front cover that a part of it is protrusive from, and another part of it is retractive into the outer surface of the front cover. In a place where the optical panel is retractive into the outer surface of the front cover, a part of the sidewalls of the flash opening are exposed outside. However, the exposure of the sidewalls does not spoil appearance of the camera because the sidewalls are processed with the surface treatment.
In the following preferred embodiment of the present invention, a camera has a flash device with a zoom function. The zoom flash device is provided with a movable frame holding a flash discharge tube and a flashlight reflector. Since the movable frame varies a distance between the optical panel and the flash discharge tube in accordance with power of photography by means of moving in a direction of emitting a flashlight inside the camera, an illuminating angle of the flashlight varies. In a wide-angle photography the flash discharge tube is positioned near to the condenser plate, and in telephotography the flash discharge tube is positioned far from it. In the widest-angle photography, edges of the flashlight reflector are moved to a position inside a width between an outer surface and an inner surface of a front cover touching a top surface of the condenser plate. Therefore, even in the camera having the zoom flash device which requires much space, it is possible to make the camera thinner.